Day 12

Woke up at the crack of dawn and readied myself and the bike. Tripeee took a few minutes off from work and rode the Speedie around on some pretty country roads. It was weird being so close to Washington D.C. and being in the country. Thanks for the scenic tour Tripeee. After we said goodbye, I headed up the 5 back into D.C. and took the loop around the city. I pulled over and gassed up and proceeded to hit traffic on the northern side of the city. Nice, a traffic jam. So it took me a few extra minutes to exit D.C.. Then it was out to the pretty countryside of Pennsylvania. I made a stop in Gettysburg and walked around some of the historic battle sites of the Civil War. It was weird being there, knowing thats where so many men fought and died. After that, I hurried along the country side to northern New York and enjoyed the sights, I was tired a few times so I pulled over and had some pie in Trout Run, NY. and once to nap at a small town in upstate NY. The weather was great, I wished that I took more photos along the way. My destination for the night was in Canada at my friends house. I was going to stay there at their place and then we would go back to see Niagara Falls the next day. I got to the Canadian customs, and didn't have cash on me, so I had to grab some Loonies and Toonies and pay the man. I did just that and he said "Welcome to Canada Eh!" No kidding....Just as I got to the falls...it proceeded to rain on me, I rode for the rest of the way almost in rain. It was about a 45 minute drive. I called my friend Debbie and had her come meet me at the local gas station. From there we went back to her friend Mary's place were we all checked out my photos. Mary was a crack up, the Grand Canyon photos really blew her away. Mary and her son and daughter were good people. So off to bed we went after looking at pics till late in the night. I think that I rode a total of 650 miles for the day.

Here are a few pictures
The Gettysburg area

Day 11

After a good nights sleep, I woke early with the Tripeee family....hey Dave, ya gotta get a job that doesn't require ya to get up so damn early, haha. After a quick shower and grabbing my camera and video cam, it was time to roll to D.C.. No sooner than when I had left, I came across a barn that I saw the night before. It caught my eye as I was driving in, it was red and just looked like it needed to be photographed. Well that morning as I was heading in, there was heavy fog in the fields. As I rounded the corner, I was surprised to see this......



Then a few minutes up the road I came across a farm with the same type of fog....




It was then time to hit D.C., and it took about a hour to get there. What I have to say about D.C. is that it is kind of run down. The streets are in bad shape and the neighborhoods were in shabby shape. I mean, this is the center of the free world and the most powerful people in the world are here. The grounds were in need of watering and bushes trimmed. I felt let down, like WHERE IN THE HELL is our tax money going to? I think that Washington D.C. should be clean, well maintained and a good representative of what the USA should symbolize. If I was a tourist from another country, the sight of the city and grounds would leave me wondering about the management of the States. Why is it that other larger cities can look nice? Ok enough of the rant...I then parked the bike and proceeded to walk the monuments. First stop was the Washington monument.




Next stop was my favorite, The World War Two Memorial. I was amazed at the quietness and reverence at these monuments. I cant say how much I appreciate the men and women that serve and have given their lives for me, us. Without them, I might not be able to take this ride that I have been able to do. Thank you all, with that said....here is the WWII Memorial.











The next stop, the Lincoln Monument.






Next was the Vietnam Memorial








The White House...


The Natural Science Museum

Nice Teeth

Bigger teeth..Trex




A Big Bird...no really, read the sign...almost 6 feet tall



Time for the Air and Space museum




This is one of the prettiest airplanes ever built...The Spitfire


The mighty P-51 Mustang

And to many more, can't show all them...here are a few




Flying missiles then...

And what they are now...


After the places closed down, I went back to the bike and headed out of town back to Tripeee's place. The traffic wasn't to bad, then I got lost...there I admitted it. What was a 55 mile trip turned into a 120 mile trip back to his place. So the detour cost me a crab cake dinner at the Tripeee residence. Oh well, I did manage to get back in and went to bed after washing clothes. Thanks Tripeee family, the stay was awesome, and it was great meet all yall....
I Rode a total of around 220 miles for the day